Apparatus for testing lubricants



Nov. 5, 1935. G. D. BOERLAGE 2,019,948

I APPARATUS v.FOR TESTING LUBRICANTS Filed May 2, 1934 HG. i

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I lnvenorf GzrrT Denim 5% Patented Nov. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR TESTING LUBRICANTS Gerrit Daniel. Boerlage, Delft, Netherlands, as-

signor to Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application May 2, 1934, Serial No. 723,478 1n Great Britain May 10, 1933 6 claims. (Cl. 265-10) can be readily adjusted and in which the sur-4 faces `which are subjected to wearing during the test, can be easily examined after such test and be renewed in an e'asy and inexpensive manner. According to the invention, use is made of three contacting balls of suitable material, e. g.

l5 steel, `which are held in a fixed position relative to each other, and a fourth ball contacting with and centered by the set of three balls. They said fourth ball is pressed against the three balls with a preferably adiustable Iforce, and a rotating movement is set upl between the set of three balls and the fourth ball. The contacting points' of the ythree balls with the fourth ball are kept wetted by the lubricant to be tested, e. g. by

immersing the balls in a bath of the lubricant.

An apparatus embodying the invention is diagrammatically illustrated on the annexed drawing, in which Figure 1 shows a central sectional Y elevation land Figure 2 a cross-sectional plan view along the`line lI-II of Figure 1. Afcentral sectional elevation of a. modified part of the apparatus is shown in Figure 3. 4

Referring to Figure 1; within a. cup 8 partially lled with the lubricant to be tested three balls I are arranged pressed downwardly 'and inwardly by means of an'annular member 9 having a conical lower surface, so that the balls are lirmly pressed against the bottom of the cup and against each other and held in a xed position' The cup 8 is placed on a table I2; aI flange- 40 shaped member III bearing on the annular member 9 is pressed -downwardly byimeans of`wing Y nuts provided on bolts Il connected to table I2. The table I2 rests on a base i6, -ball-bearings I5v being arranged between the table and the base so 'as to allow a rotational movement of the former in relation to the latter. directed force P mayr be applied to the base e. g.

by hydraulic means. l ,Cooperating with the three balls I is a fourth bau 2 fixedly clamped in a split, fork-shaped holder 31, the prongs of which are pressed together by means of a bolt and nut t. The holder 3 is connected to a shaft 5 supported in suitable bearings, which shaft can be rotated by means of a driving means, such as a driving pulley l.

'under what pressure a lubricant can operate An upwardly i a motor directly coupled to the shaft or like means. An upward movement of the shaft is prevented, e. g. by means of a shoulder 6 formed thereon. To a pin I3 arranged at the periphery of table I2 a wire is attached, the other end of 5 which actuates a. spring balance I4 or like de- `vice adapted to measure the force with which 'the table I2 tends to rotate.

A test can be carried out with the apparatus as follows: l0

' Three new balls of standard quality such as are generally used in ball-bearings are put into the cup 8 and are clamped in a xedposition by inserting ring 9 and pressing it down by means of member I@ and the wing nuts on bolts Il. The 35 lubricant to be tested is poured yinto the cup in such a quantity that the balls are immersed therein. A fourth ball is clamped into holder t. Then the table I6 is raised by applying a force P thereto, so that the one ball contacts with the Tf1" three others, and shaft 5 is put into rotation. Force P and the number of rotations per time unit of shaft 5 are preferably adjustable. The moment ofthe forces transferred from ball 2 to the balls I through friction action can be measured 25 by means of spring balance It or any other device of this kind. "I'he magnitude of the said 'moment and any changes thereof during the test provide valuable indications of the extreme pressure qualities of the lubricant under test. After the testing apparatus having run a certain time, the balls can be taken out and examined -to investigate the wear they` have undergone. The area of the wear surfaces formed on the balls under the extreme pressure condition w provides a further measure .for the lubricating properties of the lubricant under the circumstances chosen. Finally it may be investigated ,tali

during a predeteed e without :w1

It will be obvious from the foregoing that extremely high pressures per unit of contact area between the balls, as well as high rubbing .iw-

A nl

may be easily obtained, and marine spp tus,

if a test has been carried out, y be broughtinto order for a new'test. v

Instead of using a set of'three balls otlie number of balls may be used, although uw.: is the number preferably chosen as being the most advantageous.

According to the modification of the invention shown in Figure 3, the balls are substituted by cylinders with parallel vaxes, each cylinder having one end of spherical orlike shape. 'Ihe three or more cylinders (IA) of the lower set are of exactly the same length, being for example, three to four times the radius. Such a set of cylinders, with their rounded ends upwards, can be clamped in position in the cup `exactly in the same Way as the'balls of the othen' arrangement, the contact with the upper cylinder (2A) having its rounded end turned downwardly being also of the same nature. An advantage of the spherically-ended cylinders resides in their simple construction as compared with balls, which is of importance when it is desired to investigate the behavior of metal surfaces of a material other than generally used for balls of ball-bearings, for example, the behavior of special alloys in connection with the lubricant to be tested.

I claim as my invention:

l. Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising members having spherical portions, means for clamping said members in xed position against each other, an additional member having a spherical portion adapted to contact with said clamped members, and means for rotating said additional member.

2. Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising balls, means for clamping said balls in xed position against each other, an additional ball adapted to contact said clamped balls, and means for rotating said additional ball.

3. Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising identical cylinders having semi-spherical ends, means for clamping said cylinders in xed position with their semi-spherical ends uppermost, a similar cylinder having a semi-spherical end adapted to contact said clamped cylinders with its spherical end downward, and means for rotating said similar cylinder.

4. Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising a cup, balls therein, a ring-shaped body for clamping said balls in xed position, said ringshaped body having its underside conical whereby the balls are pressed toward the center of the cup and against each other, an additional ball adapted to contact said clamped balls, and means for rotating said additional ball.

5, Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising balls, means for clamping said balls in xed position against each other, an additional ball adapted to contact said clamped balls, a holder for said additional ball, and a rotatable shaft connected to said holder and having its axis perpendicular to the plane in which the centres of the said clamped balls are positioned.

6. Apparatus for testing lubricants comprising balls, means for clamping said balls in xed position against each other, an additional ball adapted to contact said clamped balls, means for rotating said additional ball, a table supporting said clamped balls, means for maintaining a desired pressure between said clamped balls and said additional ball, and means for measuring the moment of force transferred to said table from said additional ball.

GERRIT DANIEL BOERLAGE 

